He struggled mightily at the start of last season, as many thought someone so relatively young and inexperienced as he was when drafted in 2011 would be. But as the year went on he appeared to find his footing and get busier on the glass. A team as porous as Charlotte was has to end opponents' possessions as often as possible. Biyombo may be the only player on the Bobcats' roster who can do that on a nightly basis, though he'll get help from Haywood, late of the Mavericks.

THE SKINNY: Staring from the abyss after setting the all-time mark for worst win percentage in a season, the Bobcats couldn't make out stars, sky, horizons, anything. Any collection of 12 basketball players, randomly selected, would likely do better than Charlotte managed last season. Improvement is inevitable. But it's good to start with a piece as energetic as Kidd-Gilchrist, who figures to be Michael Jordan's kind of insatiable defender. Taylor is a potential second-round steal; many teams had him rated much higher. There will be no confusion about Gordon's role or position with the Bobcats as there was when he signed with the Pistons while Rip Hamilton was still very much the incumbent two guard. In Charlotte, he already has the green light. Sessions wanted a little security and he got it 3,000 miles from Los Angeles. Coaches rave about Dunlap's intensity, but there will still be a lot of losses this season, though at a slightly slower rate. Dunlap will accept nothing less than max effort, but when the results don't go the way he hopes, discretion may be the way to go.